How I Build Dioramas(step-by-step)

Somehow I lost the bookmark for this site.will start posting again soon.Cheers! John.

Well deserved!  John's builds are magnificent.

Congratulations on the commission, John!

 

Regards, 

Hi Guys! Still busy with the Jenny diorama.I got some good news the other day! The Royal Air Force Museum in London U.K. has given me a commission to do a diorama for them.I will keep you guys advised of the subject matter and storyline for this next diorama.I still have about a years work to finish the "Memories of Flight School " that I am building now.Cheers! John.

I finally bought a digital camera and I have added many new pics to my photobucket album.

Cheers! John. 

Ron,I am not exactly clear on how I do this.Unfortunately I am no computer whiz!

Cheers! John. 

I guess that I can post here and put the pics in the album.

I am presently working on the engine shop furniture.

Cheers! John. 

Thanks Ron ,I will give it a try!Cheers.John.

This thread is incredible. Thanks for all this work John.

All my pics can be found in my Photobucket site.Cheers! John.

Hi Guys! me again.I will try to give this picture posting thing another shot.Cheers! John.

If anyone is still interested in following this thread,I also post over on the auto site and numerous other modeling websites.Cheers! John.

Still can't post pics to this site,sorry.

 

I am having trouble posting to this site,is anyone else experiencing the same problem?

A friend on another thread wrote:

PS: Just an after-thought. You may want to try some 2-part polyester automotive putty like "Evercoat" to fill in the backs of the figures. If you break through, it sands more like plastic.... and you can use what's left in the can to fill the seams when you chop the top on that 1:1 jalopy you're playing with.


Speaking of "Belle" the 1931 Ford Tudor,I understand that Minicraft has just brought out a 1/16th kit of the exact same car as "Belle" even down to the red and black color scheme.This style and year seems to be very popular with the diecast companies and kitmakers.I think that it must be because the "Tudor" was Henry's original idea for the "A" sort of like what the DC3 was to aviation.
Being a history buff myself I really enjoy having the tudor more than I would any other car of the era ,as it really is an American icon of automotive history, and besides it is a heck of a lot cheaper to buy than the more popular roadster or pheaton versions.
After a fun summers driving I plan to put her on jacks soon for the winter.
Cheers! John.

Using the same burr I continued to thin down the plastic .Nowhere did I actually break through to the exopy beneath but in some places it is very thin.Iwill stop here until I bend the body to the seated position.
The back of the figure was carved down to a smooth finish.If the epoxy paste tends to come off in pieces instead of a dust let it cure awhile longer.When dealing with a shiny plastic surface rough it up a bit before applying the exoxy,using a burr or sandpaper.
Next it is on to finding a position that I like using the mannequin as an example and then trying to reposition the figure as required.

I used my rotary tool and a ruby carver to remove some of the uniform.Use a medium speed as you dont want to melt the plastic and clog up the bit.
Remove only small amounts at a time.You can hold your finger on the inside where you are working and if you feel any heat stop and hold it up to a light, to make sure that you dont carve right through.Wear a mask and eye protection.Remove all unwanted detail and if possible try to retain as many of the folds as you can.
I left my figure a little paunchy around the middle until I figure out exactly how he will look when seated.Actually he looks a little like me with what I call the "porky pilot" look.The grooves on the back of the figure were a little too deep so I decided to build it up a bit with 2 part ,5minute, epoxy paste.Once this sets overnite(or 24 hours ,to be really safe )I will then continue the carving process.

The next pic will show where I used the same epoxy paste to beef up the inside of the figure ,where the light showed me where things were getting a little thin and there was a danger of breaking through the plastic.

Right now I don't have any idea how this will work out so it is a bit of an adventure for you and me both.If I screw it up well at least it would have been fun trying something different.

I am getting a little bored with woodwork right now ,so maybe it is time to at least start on the above figure.I think as a first step I will put the newly acquired mannequin together and work on a few poses.
Then I will begin the figure by removing some unwanted parts of the uniform and lifejacket ,as well as whatever that thing is on the front of his pants.(built in relief tube for those extra long flights?)

This is a Tamiya figure that I picked up the other day of aWW2 Japanese fighter pilot.It is in 1/16th scale but a little shorter in stature than my other 1/16th figures.
It has all the makings of a nice modified WW1 (or as in my case ) a 20's barnstormer.Normally ,I would just make some mods to the flying suit and use it pretty much as is ,but in this case I think that I will try another seated figure(my 1st was the guy seated in the model A in the Nieuport diorama)He may look good seated in one of the airshow cars.
The last time that I tried this I didnt have a mannequin to work with and it turned out OK but this time it should be a lot easier.This is a hollow plastic figure so I plan to use lots of A+B epoxy as a filler in certain areas.I like to overbuild areas of the figure and then carve it down with rotary tools much like you would to carve wood.Another for my to do list......